Can we make a difference?

Are you feeling overwhelmed like I am?   Do you wonder how on earth we can make a difference when it seems so many people seem unwilling to change.  I can’t believe there are still people who haven’t switched their lightbulbs to CFLs, and who still throw out scrap paper and aluminum cans.  Is it even possible to make a difference in this world when people seem so resistant to even the small changes that will help?  Is it just that people are just too greedy and lazy to change?

Here, a message of hope from No Impact Man.

Your very own Carbon Elephant

back from the abyss…

Too much to write about, too many problems to tackle, too many people who don’t care.  Those are the reasons I find it hard to keep up my blog.  I am overwhelmed by the number, and sheer size of the problems we need to work on, and am constantly facing people whose attitude is one of apathy and self-involvement.

However, I am back, and with renewed vigor to try and change the world… although probably only one person at a time.

Toxic baby bottles!

Whilst reading blogs this evening, i came across this post over at The Cleaner Plate Club.  The post references this study about the toxins that are leaking from plastic food containers, and specifically from baby bottles.   I had been reading about the dangers of various plastics recently, and had decided to start using glass containers for all of my food.  I hadn’t quite gotten to it yet, though.  I think i may need to make a trip to the mall tomorrow, in search of pyrex containers.  The most disturbing thing to me is that my children, while never having used bottles, have both been heavily dependant upon sippy cups.  I guess we’re going to have to start weaning them from that habit.

How distressing is it when products flood the market, to the point where you cannot get away from them, and then years later, after the damage has most likely been done, those products prove not to be safe.  Why wasn’t more testing done?  Why are we only finding out about the dangers of plastics now?  Now that we’ve all been exposed.

I’d like my veggies without the poison, please.

If you were given the choice of buying organic apples at $1.58/kg, or apples sprayed with arsenic for $1.28/kg, which would you choose? Would you buy the cheaper apples to save the 30 cents? Or would you pay a little bit more so your family wouldn’t be exposed to the arsenic? Probably the latter.

Pesticides are poison. They are meant to kill the insects and fungi that attack crops. But they are not organism specific. No, your child is not going to die from eating a non-organically grown apple. But do you really want your child(ren) to be exposed over and over again to the small amounts of poison present on their fruits and vegetables? Do YOU want to be exposed to it?

And for the small percentage of you who figure that you could save the 30 cents, and just wash the apples really well… well guess what, the pesticides don’t just sit on the surface. Fruits and vegetables (especially thin skinned ones like apples, berries, grapes, and carrots) absorb them through their skin, and you cannot wash it all off. That means, that for all of your scrubbing and even boiling, the pesticides are still there and you still eat them.

My family is very lucky, because we have some excellent farmer’s markets in our area, and we can get organic produce, year-round, for the same price as regular supermarket produce. It’s lovely to know that if my 4 year old takes an apple from our fruit bowl and eats it without washing it, he hasn’t ingested anything harmful.

I know i will return to this topic in the future because i think it’s a very important one. I think that we all deserve to eat food that is healthy for us. And i think it’s imperative that people be more aware of what it is that they are consuming.

I will leave you with this U.S. Government fact sheet regarding pesticides exposure in children.

move over, swiffer!

I have never owned a swiffer, despite being sorely tempted by the allure of its convenience. I could never bring myself to buy one because i knew that i couldn’t live with the waste of the disposable sweeping cloths. I am very wary of all things “disposable” simply because i cannot abide the thought of how huge our landfills are, and how much i would be contributing by adding unnecessary convenience items. But…

How great is this?! The omop is a swiffer-esque sweeping/mopping system with biodegradable sweeping pads made from corn. Corn, people! And, a washable microfibre mopping pad. Washable! I’m in love with this product! While you’re checking out the omop, take a look at their non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners, laundry detergent, and other lovely products.

Welcome!

What is a greener life? In my opinion, it’s simply a change toward a cleaner environment, and healthier living. It can be as small as using energy saving lightbulbs instead of incandescent ones, or walking the 4 blocks to the corner grocery instead of driving.

Many people would like to live a greener life. However, it has been my experience that while most people will agree that green choices (i.e., recycling and organic food) are a good idea, they sometimes require more effort and are, therefore, less attractive.

My hope is that this blog will provide information, tips, and resources, so that greener choices are easier to make. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you find something here that makes your life and maybe our world, a little bit better.